Out of the ashes
by InvaderAlison
Summary: AU. Lydia is a 16 year old single child, recently orphaned human girl, that's living with her boyfriend, Dib. She is very pretty, which ends up being her downfall one night, when she is cornered in a city alley by an inhuman rapist. She needs her friends and remaining family now more than ever. Especially when she gets some important news two weeks later. Baby Zimness, family fluff
1. Chapter 1: Bruises

Chapter 1: Bruises

Summary: THIS IS AN AU! Lydia is a 16 year old single child, recently orphaned human girl, that's living with her boyfriend, Dib. She is very pretty, which ends up being her downfall one night, when she is cornered in a city alley by an irken rapist named Seth (pronounced Sait). She feels like her whole world is crashing down at once, and doesn't know what to do. Especially when she gets some big news two weeks later….. Baby Zim-ness! Family fluff

October 28th, 9:00 pm. The night of the school talent show. Lydia and her friend, Noah Vand, were next. They were singing "Bruises" by Train, and they were both getting antsy. They looked into the audience and saw Derek, their friend and Noah's boyfriend, and they felt a little relieved when he gave them a thumbs up. They smiled, and then once the clapping started and the previous act exited the stage, they walked out, welcomed by the clapping of their classmates. There was a stool out on stage waiting for them, since Lydia was playing the guitar. She sat down, got her fingers in position, then started playing, not looking up from the bouncing strings.

(Italic=Lydia, Reg.=Noah, Bold=both for those of you that don't know the song)

Haven't seen you since high school  
Good to see you're still beautiful  
Gravity hasn't started to pull  
Quite yet I bet you're rich as hell

Lydia looked up from the guitar and over at Noah, then something, or rather someone, caught her eye. She saw Dib, her boyfriend, standing back by the door. She smiled at him and he returned it. She knew he couldn't stay long, because he had to get back to work, but she was glad he made it for their song. She felt confident after that, and sang her verse

One that's five and one that's three  
Been two years since he left me  
Good to know that you got free  
That town I know was keeping you down on your knees

These bruises make for better conversation  
Loses the vibe that separates  
It's good to let you in again  
You're not alone in how you've been  
Everybody loses, we all got bruises  
We all got bruises

Have you seen him? Not in years  
How about her? No but I hear  
She's in Queens with the man of her dreams  
Funny back then she said that about you

Que sera you'll never guess who I saw  
Remember Johnny B remember him we were best friends practically  
Let's do this soon again, ten years is that what it's been?  
Can't believe how time flies by  
Leaving you makes me wanna cry

These bruises make for better conversation  
Loses the vibe that separates  
It's good to let you in again  
You're not alone in how you've been  
Everybody loses, we all got bruises  
We all got bruises

I would love to fix it all for you  
I would love to fix you too  
Please don't fix a thing whatever you do

These bruises make for better conversation  
Loses the vibe that separates  
It's good to know you've got a friend  
That you remember now and then  
Everybody loses

These bruises make for better conversation  
Loses the vibe that separates  
It's good to let you in again  
You're not alone in how you've been  
Everybody loses,everybody loses, everybody loses  
We all got bruises, We all got bruises, We all got bruises

When the song finished, they received a warm round of applause and lots of cheering from their classmates, which made them smile; relieved and disappointed that it was over. The two of them went backstage and were met by Dib and Derek. Noah went off to his boyfriend as Lydia went off to hers.  
"You did great," Dib told her.  
"Thanks, and I really appreciate coming here on your break to see us."  
"No problem. If you want, I can give you a ride home after. I get off about half an hour after the show finishes."  
"No, thats okay. I kinda wanna walk. I like seeing the city at night."  
"Alright, if you're sure." Dibs watch then started to beep, telling him that it was time to get back to work. "I gotta go. Love you." He bent over and placed a sweet, loving kiss on Lydia's lips.  
"Love you too. Bye."

With that, Dib walked off back to his car, and Olivia watched until the tip of his scythe like hair was out of sight. She could have left then if she had wanted to, but her best friend was at the very end.

After all of the acts were done, they announced the winners. In first place was a speed painter that had painted a picture of New York city at night in five minutes, in second was Lydia and Noah, and in third was a small group of dancers.

Everyone had had fun, but it being almost 11:00 at night, everyone was glad it was over so they could just go to bed.

Lydia said goodbye to Derek and Noah and started on her walk home. It was about a twenty minute walk from the high school to Dib's house, so it gave her time to look at the beautiful city lights that the city had to offer. When she stepped out of the warmth of the high school and into the brisk fall night air, it gave her goosebumps on her pale, white skin. She smiled, and walked to the North-east. She was so captivated in the beauty of the night, she couldn't help but just, feel happy. For the first time since her parents death, just a month and a half ago, she felt truly happy.

Unfortunately, the odds had never really been in her favor.

While she was looking across the street at some of the skyscrapers, a strong hand clasped over her mouth and an even stronger arm grabbed her and pulled her into an alley. She tried to scream but her efforts were futile and muffled. She tried to jerk herself away from her captor but to no avail. She tried to bite him, but couldn't open her mouth. She was completely hopeless. All she could do was watch. Watch as some stranger pulled her further into the alley way and turn a few grimy, sharp corners. The alley way was like a maze, and after what seemed like an eternity, they stopped. Her captor released her only to grab her and turn her around again, forcing her to face him. What she saw made her scream, resulting in him punching her, hard across the jaw.

Her captor, was inhuman. She wasn't sure what he was, but she knew he wasn't human. He had green skin, two long, black, jagged, like the edge of a knife, antenna two large, piercing black eyes, curved teeth and a serpent like tongue. She could feel that he had three fingers, scratch that, claws, on each hand, and they were stabbing into the side of her still captive arms.  
"Wha- What are you?"  
"Well, Darlin'. I'm Irken Seth."  
"Irken?"  
"That's right sweet thing." He looked her up and down and invited himself to feel around her trembling body. She was terrified and he knew it. He started to nibble on her neck. 

"Help! Someone, Please! Help me!" 

Seth then hit her again and pushed her down to the ground, holding a knife against her throat. "You're gonna shut up, and let me do whatever I damn well please to do. And if you don't, well, this small blade here will slowly rip your throat open. Understand?"

Lydia was shaking. She looked up at him, fear in her eyes as she slowly nodded her head. Why was this happening? Right as her life was kinda starting to get back to a semi normal level, this happens? She should have accepted Dib's offer. This alien was about to steal her virginity, and she couldn't even stop him. He already had the knife digging into her throat to the point that if it had any more pressure, she would be done for. All she could do was hope that is would be painless and quick.

"That's a good girl. Now, just behave yourself, and I won't hurt you too bad."

Lydia could feel him slide her dress up as she closed her eyes tight, tears spilling out of them. She regretted wearing a dress, and wished she had worn jeans instead. He then pulled off her undergarments and threw them to the side, inserting himself roughly, making her take in a painful gasp of air. So much for it being painless. He didn't start slow or carefully, but hard and aggressive. She whimpered, and it made him smile evilly. She didn't open her eyes once, she was too afraid. It took half an hour. Half an hour of terrifying torture later Seth reached his climax. He removed the blade from her throat and stood up, buckling his pants. He gave an evil grin, and just to make her feel worse, he threw a penny at her.

"Not the best I've had," he said, "but I would be more than happy to fuck you again."

Lydia waited until he was out of sight to get up. She slid her undergarments on over her bloody legs, and ran home as best she could, but it was too painful. Despite her better judgement, she sat down on the curb, and cried into her arms. Her face was full of bruises, her lip was swollen and bleeding from when Seth had bitten down on it, there were three, crescent moon shaped, bloody marks on each of her arms from where he had gripped her. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, when she heard a car pulling up besides her, coming to a complete stop. She didn't look up as the driver got out of the car and walked over to her. Not until he spoke that is. His voice sounded heartbroken.

"Lydia?"

Shit. She knew that voice too well. She looked up to the concerned splashed all over her boyfriends face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. Dib picked her up and gently placed her in the front seat of the car, then got in the drivers seat and drove home. It was times like this when Lydia was glad that Gaz and professor membrane were almost never home. When they got home, Lydia went and sat on the couch, joined by Dib after he locked the door. He took her hand in his own.

"What happened?"  
"Nothing."  
"Lydia, obviously something happened." He put his arms around her and held her close and she sobbed.  
"It was awful. He just rapped me! Like I was nothing more than a toy!"  
"Who? What did he look like?"  
"His name was Seth. He wasn't human. He said he was, I don't remember what he said. I think it was Irken?"

Dib's eyes widened a little at the word. He had learned about Irkens back when he was obsessed with the paranormal. "Don't worry. He won't hurt you again. I promise, I'll protect you."

They stayed like that for a while, in each others arms.  
"We'll go to the doctor tomorrow, to make sure you're alright."  
"No."  
"Lydia,"  
"I said no. I don't want to." She was still shaking, and he didn't want to push it any further, but he wanted to make sure she would be alright. She seemed to be able to read his mind. She looked up to him, tears still in her eyes. "Please."

Dib knew that he wasn't going to win this. "Alright." He squeezed her tighter as she hugged him back, burying her head in his chest. "I won't make you go if you don't want to."

"Thank you."

That was the end of the situation. Dib turned on the T.V and got them some ice cream from the fridge, trying to help get the situation off of Lydia's mind. It worked, a little bit. She had calmed down a little bit, and after a little while, they fell asleep, in each others arms.

Well, what do you think? Don't forget to review! Next chapter should be up soon!


	2. Chapter 2: Uh oh

Chapter two: Uh oh.

Lydia woke up in a cold sweat with a start. She looked around and saw that she was in her room.

It took her a couple of seconds to realize that her stomach hurt. She jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom, just in time to open the toilet lid and throw up. She had just gotten over the flu, but apparently it wasn't over like she had thought. Maybe the nightmare had been part of it. She had been having these nightmares every night for the past two weeks, since, it, had happened. She had missed a few days of school, went for four days, then got the flu, causing her to miss another three days.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dib knocking at the door. She wiped her mouth a piece of toilet paper, and flushed the toilet, shutting the lid so that she didn't have to see it. She called to let him know it was okay to come in, and then washed her mouth out with some cold water.  
"How are you feeling?"  
"Still sick."  
"Aah," he walked up to her and wrapped her in a hug, "sorry to hear that. You want me to stay home with you?"  
"If you wanna, I don't want to miss out on anything."  
"Don't worry, it's Ms. Bitters. She hasn't changed much since fifth grade."  
"No, she really hasn't."

Dib was down in the Kitchen making waffles. He didn't even think of the consequences until it was too late. Not two seconds after he poured the syrup on the first batch, a small metallic robot with two wide cyan eyes came shooting out of the basement, screeching about waffles.

"WAFFLES!"  
"Ssh, Gir. Lydia's still asleep."  
Gir then whispered "Oh, okay. Can I have a waffle? PLEASE?!"  
"Ssh! You can have a waffle, if you are quiet. Okay?"  
Gir smiled and nodded quickly, earning him a waffle. Before he ate it though, he held out his hand.  
"Only one, Gir."  
"But, but what about MiniMoose?"  
"Okay, one more for MiniMoose."  
Gir then ran off with his waffles back down to his fathers old lab.

Dib sighed. His father never came home now that Dib was old enough to take care of himself. Gaz had gone to live with her friend, and only came back once in a while to steal dib's food.

He looked over at the door to the basement that Gir had flown through, and smiled. He had built Gir for the science fair that his father forced him into when he was thirteen. About a year after that, he built MiniMoose to keep Gir entertained.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone walking, almost running, down the stairs. Lydia came into the kitchen looking a little freaked out and stressed. Dib looked at the clock. It was noon. Lydia had been sleeping since she had gotten up at 6:30.

"Hey, sleep well?"  
"Uh, yeah." The way she spoke made it obvious that her mind was somewhere else, and that she wasn't paying attention.  
"What's wrong."  
"Huh? What do you mean? I'm fine." She took a water bottle out of the fridge and chugged it, then dropped the empty bottle on the floor and walked away from it, leaving it forgotten, which wasn't like her to do.  
"No, you're not. You're not yourself. What's bothering you?"

Lydia looked at him for a second, then sat down at the table, resting her head in her hands as she stared at the wood, as if it could take her somewhere else.

"I, I'm late."  
"What for?"  
"My… period." she said embarrassed.

Dib blushed a little. Duh, what else would she have meant. Wait… If she was late, that meant… Uh oh.

"Oh."  
"Yeah. Can you drive me to the store?"  
"Sure."  
"Thanks." Lydia ran upstairs and put on some sweat pants, then got into Dib's car as he drove her to the store. The whole ride was spent in silence, and Lydia thought she was going to throw up again. She kept staring at her stomach. 'There could be a living thing in there right now'.

When they got to the store, Dib stayed in the car as Lydia ran inside, bought a water bottlw, pregnancy test, and headed for the bathroom.

~5 minutes later~

Dib sat out in his car, listening to the radio, when Lydia hopped in.

"So..."  
"Home. I think I need to go home."  
"Lydia, what was the result?" Dib asked, already kinda knowing the answer."  
"...positive..." she replied in a breathy voice. "It was positive."

Dib didn't say anything as he started to back out of the parking space. But curiosity got the best of him.

"What are you going to do?"  
"Keep it. I'm keeping it."

Dib, knowing that it wasn't his place to say, just nodded and said "Okay."

They started on their way home, when Lydia spoke up.

"Hey, uh, can we, maybe, not go home?"  
"Sure. But, why not? If you don't mind me asking."  
"It's fine. And, I don't want to just go home and sit there. I wanna try and take my mind off everything that's happened lately."

Dib smiled sweetly. "Okay, sure thing babe."

Lydia looked over to him and smiled. Instead of going home, Dib drove them over to Mystical hill. There they sat on the hood of the car and talked. Talked about random things, school, what they thought Gir and MiniMoose were doing. After talking for a while and sharing a few laughs, Lydia looked up to the sky, smiled and sighed.

Dib looked at her and smiled also. He was glad that she felt better. Or so he thought. Though she was smiling on the inside, she couldn't get the thought out of her head; _'I'm pregnant. What am I going to name it? Will I be a good mom? Will I be able to give it a good life? What would my parents say? What will my grandparents think? Oh god, what do I do?'_


	3. Chapter 3: Month one

Chapter 3: Month 1

Lydia couldn't stop looking at the small bulge that had formed in her stomach. She smiled as she placed a hand over her stomach, stroking it with her thumb. Despite everything that lead up to this, she was happy. She was excited to have a little person growing inside her, that would look up to her. But then she thought of everything that did lead up to this, and she was angry. She paced around her room cursing and swearing under her breath, grabbing a pillow and screaming into it just to throw it on the ground with an angry growl, the she would sink to the floor and cry about how her world was falling apart. Once she calmed down and wiped her tears away, she sighed and layed her head back against the wall with a thud.

"Fucking hormones," she whispered to herself. Oh well, it was worth it. She looked at the clock sitting on her bedside table. It read 7:08. Lydia stood up and grabbed her backpack off her bed. She walked down the stairs where Dib was waiting for her, and they walked out to his car, and drove to school.

When they got to school, they went up to the library, where there gang was waiting for them as usual. There was Noah, Derek, Tali, April, and Erica.  
"Hey, guys!" Tali said excitedly.  
"Hey," they both greeted. Lydia sat down by Tali.  
"It's good to see you bro. Why did you leave me all alone?"  
"Ahem," Erica hinted.  
"Hush." She turned back to Lydia. In a hushed voice, she asked her, "So, how are you doing?"Everyone looked to Lydia. She had told them already, and knew that Tali would have brought it up sooner or later. "Fine, I'm, I'm fine. But, uh…"  
"Yeah?"  
"I'm pregnant," she whispered to the group.  
"What?" Noah asked, a little louder than intended, but no one thought anything of it. "I'm a month pregnant."  
"Didn't you get the day after pill?" Erica asked.  
"Obviously not, I didn't even know there was such a thing. They don't exactly teach us much about rape in health class."  
"Didn't your parents ever tell you?"  
"They never really had a reason to."  
"What about a month ago, when you needed it?"  
Lydia's face fell. Erica hadn't said anything to be mean, she and Lydia weren't close friends, they only really talked when Tali was around. She was there link. Erica didn't know about her parents.  
"My parents died two and a half months ago."  
Erica immediately looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."  
"It's fine."  
It was silent for a while, then Derek broke the ice. "So, have you thought about names?"  
"A little bit. If it's a girl, I'm thinking Katie. And, if it's a boy…"  
"Yes?" The other four asked. Dib already knew what she had in mind.  
"It's different, but, I was thinking if it's a boy, I'm gonna go with Zim."  
"Zim? That is different. But neat. How did you think of it?"  
"I saw it on the side of a train-car, yeah I know, as if that wasn't Honey boo boo enough for you, and, I don't know, I just liked it."  
"I like it too. It's unique."

Shortly after, the first bell rang, telling them it was time to head to cass. Noah and Derek split for geometry as the other four went to biology. They were learning about fusion and diffusion, had a fire drill, got to stand out in the chilly fall air. talk of how it would be snowing soon and Christmas being a month away drifted around as they went back inside. In second block, they had world literature with the ever so confusing Mr. Davidson, who truly believed that everything in the world was connected (a student once tested him asking how Hitler and pizza pockets were related, and somehow he found a link to connect the two), for third block, they all went their separate ways for their elective quarter class (Dib and Tali went to graphic design, Lydia went to marketing, Erica went to choir) and they met again for fourth block, world studies. And by the end of the day, Lydia was amazed how tired she was. It had been an unusually busy day, a test in three of her four classes, and projects due the next week in the same classes. They met up with Derek and Noah out in the parking lot.  
"Sheesh, they said they wouldn't all give us projects due at the same time," Tali said, also mentally tired.  
"You can't trust teachers.," Erica replied.  
"You can't trust any human in general," Derek said.  
"Amen to that, the only people I trust are my family and you guys," Lydia said.  
"Sometimes I wish I wasn't a human at all," Dib said. "I think most of them have been brainwashed."  
"That's just it though. Mentally, none of us are human. The six of us, we're different from the rest."  
"You're right, man. We aren't brainwashed zombies like the other humans."  
"Sometimes I wish that 2012 had been real. It would have done some good if half the population had been wiped out," Lydia said. Suddenly, a wave of nausea and dizziness swept over her, and she excused herself to go sit in Dib's car.  
"We should get going," Derek said, then he and Noah left for their car, then Erica left for hers and Tali hitched a ride with her. Dib walked back to his car; Lydia's door hanging open as she tried to cool herself off.  
"Can we go home now?"  
"Yeah, lets get out of here."

When they got home, Lydia went straight to bed, ignoring her homework. She would worry about it later. She turned her radio on gently to a classic rock station as she started to drift off to sleep to Billy Joel.

~3 hours later~

CRASH!

Lydia awoke with a start from the loud sound of a crash downstairs. She got off her bed and ran downstairs, welcomed by the smoke detector and lots of smoke. She coughed a bit, and ducked down below the cloud of black air. She saw Dib doing the same, and, she should have guessed, Gir's dancing feet and the bottom of MiniMoose's nubs could be seen. Lydia gave Dib a questioning look, and he just rolled his eyes at the the robots, then got up, covering his nose and mouth with his arm, and started opening windows. Lydia started doing the same thing, and turned the oven off, being careful not to breathe in too much smoke for the sake of both her and the baby. Once the smoke had cleared out of the house, All eyes were on gir, who sat with a cupcake smeared around his mouth, smiling innocently.  
"Gir, what did you do this time?" Lydia asked, still tired.  
"Noooooothing."  
Lydia looked to Dib, who looked to her and shook his head. "He tried to bake a turkey."  
"Oh, so it was an accident?"  
"Well, not exactly."  
"Huh?"  
"Well, inside the turkey, he had put a roll of toilet paper, some of Gaz's left behind nail polish, a packet of batteries, and a car engine."  
"...How did he fit all of that inside a turkey?"  
"Who knows." Dib sighed and sat down at the table, putting his head in his hands. Lydia sat next to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug as he did the same to her. They gave each other a kiss, and just stayed in each others arms for a while at the table.  
"So, how'd you sleep?"  
"Fine, until I almost had a heart attack from the loud-ass explosion."  
Dib chuckled a little and Lydia joined him.  
"How do you feel?"  
"Good. Refreshed, but at the same time, exhausted. Can't wait to deal with the downsides of pregnancy for nine months."  
Dib chuckled again and kissed her temple. "Only eight more months."  
"Yippee."  
"Oh come on, you know you're excited."  
"Of course I am. I'm just, not looking forward to the down sides.""Heh, I know. But isn't it going to be worth it, when you get to hold him or her in your arms?"  
"Yeah, but…" she sighed as she looked for the right way to word it. "I'm so excited to have this baby, but, I still wish that I had never crossed paths with that fucking alien."  
"I know, I know. I wish it hadn't happened to you either. But I think that you're going to be a great mother. And I know that you're going to love this baby like crazy."  
Lydia smiled, and placed a hand on her stomach as she looked down upon it. "I already do."


	4. Chapter 4: Month three

Chapter 4: Month three

So, I just wanna apologize for the short chapters. They are about three to four pages on google docs... Very deceiving.

_In Lydia's dream, Lydia P.O.V_

_Screaming. There was so much screaming. And fire, it was everywhere; littering the sky with it's many ashes of grey, like dirty snow in the icy winter. Bodies were scattered everywhere, the only lucky ones are those that are already dead. This is the end._

_My thoughts instantly moved to my baby. I look down, only to see that the small bulge I had gotten so used to was gone. What had happened? What happened to my baby?_

_There is a sole being, laughing maniacally. I feel like I should know that laugh, as though I had heard it before, but I can't think of where, or when. It sounds so crazed, but there is something else that I can't completely place. It sounds a bit sad, but I can't hear it enough to be sure. _

_I see the being. It's an irken, and appears to be male. He's short. But even though I am looking straight at him, I can't tell what he looks like beyond his height. I can't focus enough, like I'm completely zoned out. _

_He's getting off his throne now, and walking down the red stairs, guarded by two guards. They come walking in my direction, but it's as if they can't see me. I was proven wrong though, when the short one looked me in the eye. His eyes holding so many emotions I can't identify them all. I can make out confusion though. That and sadness, along with the empty space that had held pride a moment ago. He had looked happy with his doing. Why was he sad now? He didn't open his mouth, but I'm positive he's going to say something. He took that breath that you take right before speaking, and his lips started to part, but as soon as they did, a siren went off, and slowly, everything started to go black._

Reg. P.O.V

Lydia's eyes shot open as her alarm clock screeched. She hit the off button tiredly a few times before hitting it harder and eventually knocking it off the table, and unplugging it.

This is why she didn't sleep in on schooldays; the more she slept, the more tired she was when she woke up. She was still grateful though, because it felt nice, minus the whole weird nightmare thing. It was the day that Lydia went in to get her first ultrasound. 12 weeks. She was excited to be able to see her baby. Wait, her baby. She looked down at her stomach and sighed in relief at the sight of her swollen abdomen, relieved it hadn't just disappeared like in her dream. She got out of bed, and got dressed before heading downstairs.

Dib was coming with, but they were driving separately because Lydia had some tests to do after the ultrasound, and wouldn't be in school for the day. The doctor she was going to was a friend of Dib's from the swollen eyeball network, back when he was still a member. The man's name was Dr. Sorenson, and he had quit the network because he didn't like how they tested on everything they found, often times killing the poor being. So he became a doctor, for this very reason; an alien needing help. Or in this case, a 16 year old girl carrying an alien.

When they got to the clinic, they got in almost immediately, seeing as though there weren't many people there. When they got into his office, he explained the procedure, then Lydia got in the chair and he rubbed cold gel on her stomach, then turned on the screen and started rubbing it around.

It was amazing. The baby was formed enough so she could tell what she was looking at. It was still a little too early to find out what the gender was, but she didn't want to know yet anyway. On top of the baby's head, there were two thin lines; the antenna.

"Oh my God," she whispered happily. "That's my baby."  
"Yes it is, and so far, he or she appears to be perfectly healthy."  
"Will it need a PAK?" Dib asked.  
"A what?"  
"A PAK," the doctor explained, "is a metal backpack like object that is attached to an irkens back at birth. It's basically their life support. On Irk, all Irken history and knowledge is downloaded into it. Yes, the baby will need one, but since Irk is six months away, we will have to make one ourselves. Luckily, I have some blue-prints for one."  
"Where did you get blue-prints to make an Irken PAK?"  
"You don't want to know."  
"... Okay..."  
"However, since it will be human made, and we won't be able download knowledge or history into it, your baby will still be like a normal human infant. And, as an added bonus, you won't have to worry about changing or burping your baby, because Irkens don't produce bodily waste or gases."  
"Oh. Okay, I'm fine with that."

Dib and Lydia both looked at the small being on the screen. Dib was happy for Lydia, and Lydia was just happy. She put a hand on the side of her stomach and watched the screen. Her smile only widened as she saw and felt the baby kick gently at where it laid. It was really cool for her to see what her baby was doing inside the womb.

Lydia got out of her car and walked into the mall. School had already ended at this point, and she was meeting Dib and their friends there. One thing she was really glad about was the fact that despite the obvious interventions, she could live a semi-normal life. No one, at least, not that she knew about, spread rumors about her pregnancy, she could hang out with her friends, she wasn't called a slut or whore like some of the less fortunate girls at her school that had also become teenage parents. But that didn't mean things were still challenging. At school things were okay, but in public around adults, people whispered. She didn't let it bother her to much though. They didn't know the truth, and most likely never would. Some people would call her names to her face, and she would just flip them off and walk away.

While the six of them were at the mall, they looked around, got some ice cream, and saw a movie. They asked Lydia about her ultrasound, and she showed off the picture of the baby, already incredibly proud of her child. After a little while, the six of them went and got some dinner, then all went their separate ways.

~Later that night~

Dib walked into the kitchen, surprised to see that Lydia and Gir (well, not so much Gir. He was always up doing random things.) already down there ,sitting on the table and talking.

"Aaaah, iss cute!"

"Yeah, it is isn't it."

"And it's in your belly?"

"Yup."

"You loves it, right?"

"Of course I do, Gir."

"Weeeell….. then why did you eat it?"

Lydia chuckled at the robot. "I didn't eat it. All babies start in their mommy's tummy."

"Ooooooh… can I have a taco please?"

"In the morning, okay?"

"Okay!" Gir smiled a cheesy yet cute smile and ran off, while simultaneously pulling a pig out of his head. Lydia giggled at the crazed android as Dib walked into the kitchen and to the fridge, taking out a piece of pizza. The microwave beeped, letting Lydia know that her chinese food was done.

"Hey," Dib said as he walked past her and placed his pizza in the microwave, pushing the one minute button.

"Hi," Lydia said, stabbing a pair of wooden chopsticks in her leftover chicken lo mein, taking a bite.

"You can't sleep either, huh?"

"Well, I can, but apparently, this one can't," she replied, pointing to her stomach. At least she hadn't had that dream again. "He or she has been kicking like crazy all night." She looked at the clock on the stove; 2:00 am. She sighed and rubbed her stomach. "Oh well. I can't lay in a comfy position anymore anyway."

Dib chuckled a little in sympathy, and put his arm around her shoulders as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Is it possible for unborn children to have nightmares?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Because its never kicked this much at night before. If it kicks at all at night, it's really gentle. This is rapid and hard, and it almost hurts." She continued to rub her stomach, but after a while her arm got tired (she had been doing it for about three hours before coming downstairs), she placed her arms around her enlarged stomach, as if cradling the unborn child.

Dib tentatively reached a hand out, but pulled it back a little.

"Go ahead," Lydia said. Dib placed a hand carefully on his girlfriends stomach, and after a few unresponsive seconds, something kicked at his hand.

"Wow." She was right, the kick was forceful. Well, forceful for a baby at that stage of life.

"Yeah. It's an amazing feeling, but not as much so when you are trying to fall asleep."

"Yeah, I can imagine."

The two of them finished eating their food, then moved into the living room and watched some T.V. Within an hour, they were both asleep, wrapped up in a blanket, and Lydia continued to cradle her baby.

And they both slept peacefully the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5:Month 5

Chapter 5: Month 5

"Lydia," a voice said soothingly and gently. Lydia groaned and opened her tired eyes. She looked over to the owner of the voice, Dib. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, stroking her hair gently. "Huh?" She questioned, wondering why she had been woken up.  
"You alright?" She nodded. "Why did you wake me up?" "You were crying." "I was?" "Yeah." "Oh, I didn't know." "Bad dream?" "I can't even remember it."  
"Well, don't be sad, it's a big day today." "What day is it?" "Saturday." Lydia squinted her eyes tiredly as she tried to remember what was happening that day, and they widened as she remembered. "Oh yeah, the "baby shower", and the ultrasound." "Yup, the one that will tell you if it's Katie or Zim in there." Lydia smiled. "I can't wait. And I'm glad we aren't making a big deal out of this. I like the idea of our friends coming over to watch movies for the night." "Me too." Dib leaned over and gave Lydia a kiss, then they got up and got ready.

They were sitting in the doctor's office; Lydia was listening to music and Dib was reading. Even though she was just there for an ultrasound, Lydia hated being there. She had always hated that awful sterile smell that came wilth being in the building.  
When the doctor walked in, Lydia was almost asleep. Dib nudged her gently and she woke from her light snooze. "Tired, are we?" Dr. Sorenson joked. "Yeah, I guess I didn't sleep as well as I thought." "That's okay. It's common to feel tired often during a pregnancy. Now, let's get started." Lydia got in the giant chair and pulled her shirt up over her enlarged tummy as he squirted on the cold gel and turned on the machine. "So, thought of any names?" "Katie for a girl, Zim for a boy." "Alright," the doctor said as he turned on the machine. He started rubbing the small device around as the sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the room. It was different from a humans. A human's went bumBUM bumBUM, but this one went bumbum bumbum. After rubbing the transducer around for a little while, he seemed to find what he had been looking for. He then got up, and walked over to his computer to make some notes. "Alright, Zim appears to be doing just fine. Everything looks right and on schedule." "Wait, it's a boy?" Lydia asked, smiling wide as Dr. Sorenson nodded, also smiling. Dib joined in on the smiling and squeezed Lydia's hand. "Zim," she whispered to herself, smiling at the picture on the screen.  
The doctor printed off a picture for her and handed it to her. She just kept looking at it. He had developed more, and could now see where his eyes were, his antenna bent at the end, he had three claws on each hand and foot; so far, he looked completely irken, but she didn't mind; he was adorable, and she couldn't wait to hold him in her arms.  
When they left the clinic, they went back home. Lydia, getting used to always being tired, went upstairs and went to sleep, while Dib worked on his homework.

Lydia's dream, Lydia p.o.v

There were no images, just voices. They sounded rushed and mildly panicked, but it felt like they were warped; slower than they should be.  
I can feel that I am holding something in my arms. It isn't heavy, but not light enough to be an innadimate object. It's now that I realize why I can't see anything. My eyes are closed. I force them open, but wish that I hadn't. In my arms is a sick looking Irken, no more than three years old. It brought tears to my eyes. I have a feeling about who it is, and my suspicions are confirmed when the child looked up at me.  
"Mommy?"  
He even sounded sick. His small, young voice was very weak, almost like his life was slipping away.  
"Sssssh, it's okay, mommys gotcha." I stroke the side of his head with my thumb, as tears roll down the side of his face; he looks so scared. He buries his face in my shirt, as if trying to disappear, and starts sobbing. It breaks my heart. My poor baby.  
I reposition him so that I am holding him against my chest, and he buries his face in the fabric of my shirt by my neck, some of his tears dripping onto my skin.  
I lean against the wall that I had apparently been sitting in front of, and rub Zim's tiny back. He sinks down a little bit, so his head is resting on my chest, over my heart. The gentle beating appears to be soothing to him. He balls my shirt into his tiny little fists and clutches it close to his face, like a blanket.  
Then it hit me. It was freezing in here. I look around for something to cover him up with, then glance at my arm. Conveniently enough, I'm wearing a jacket. I sit up a little, trying not to disturb him, weather he was asleep or not didn't matter, as long as he was comfortable and felt safe; and lay it over him. He accepts it immediately and curls up into it, not once removing his small head from over my heart. I gently stroke his antenna, and can feel him relax even more. Dib told me, based off what he knew about irkens, that when the antenna are stroked, it gives off the same sort of feeling that is received when the tummy on an infant is rubbed. But after a while, my wrist starts to hurt from being bent at that angle, so I rub his back again. I look down, and see that he's asleep. The fact that some one hurt my baby makes me want to hunt the person and kill them with my bare hands.  
I get up with him still in my arms and walk around a bit. The small jostle woke Zim up, and he looked up at me with tired eyes. In his small, three year old accented voice and vocabulary, he said "I love you, mommy."  
I smile down at him and kiss his forehead. "I love you too, baby," I whisper to him.  
"Fank you, foh, making me feew beddoh."  
"No problem sweetheart." I kiss the top of his head as he relaxes against my chest again, falling asleep once more.

Reg. P.O.V

Lydia woke up, but just layer there, pondering on how to sit up. She rolled from her side to her back, brought one knee up as far as it could go, then thrust it forward using the small tug and her arms to sit up. This was one of the down sides of pregnancy; everything was difficult.  
Oh we'll, she thought to herself, only three and a half more months.  
She threw her legs over the side of the bed and walked to her closet, putting on a red maternity shirt with very, very light pink stripes (the shirt she had been wearing was rink led and uncomfortable) and black sweatpants.  
When she got downstairs, everyone was already there.  
"Heey!" They greeted, welcoming their friend.  
"Hey guys."  
"Sleep well?" Dib asked  
"Yeah, I did actually."  
"Been having nightmares?"  
"Yeah."  
"We'll, considering you we're raped by an alien... I assume its normal," Erica answered.  
"No, they don't have anything to do with that douchebag. Oh we'll, whatever. I read strange dreams are common in pregnancy. Anyway, what are we gonna watch?"  
"Got any scary movies?"  
"The only semi-scary ones I own are curse of chunky and the last exorcism."  
"Ooh, curse of chucky, I haven't seen that one yet."  
"Okay." Dib got up and put the movie in, then sat back down.  
"Sooo... Who is it in there?" Derek asked.  
"Oh, that's right," Lydia said, rubbing her swollen tummy, then cradling it. "Zim." She then took out the picture she received earlier, a d passed it around.  
"Aaawweeeee, he'shoocute!" Tali said and the others agreed that yes, he was adorable (from what the picture showed them.

When the movie ended, the three girls were pretty much squealing at how the movie ended. (A/N SPOILERS!) They liked how they mentioned the Barcleys, Kincades, and the Tilly's, the families from theother movies, and the part with Andy at the end was great also (End of spoilers.)  
After that, they watched The last exorcism, Mars attacks, Twister, really just a bunch of random movies. It got late Derek, Noah, Tali and Erica ended up just spending the night, as planned. Lydia's best friend, Ty, who went to a different school, was going to come, but she had to help her parents clean the house for company.  
Around 12:04 am, everyone was asleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Month 7

Chapter 6: month 7  
29 months pregnant. Lydia couldn't believe it. She couldn't wait to hold her baby in her arms, and didn't want to wait for two months. Gir made it clear that he also was excited.  
Lydia had turned 17 the month before, but nothing had really changed. Except in her pregnancy, which was now at seven months.  
Zim would start kicking at about 3:00 am every night, and to calm him down, Lydia would cradle her stomach and sing gently to her baby. It seemed to work, because the kicking would get gentler and gentler, and eventually stop.  
Every once in a while, she would have one of her weird dreams, weather they were bad or not, and would wake up at three o'clock am, when the kicking would start. She had talked to her doctor about this, and he said the increase in kicking was probably caused from the baby's dreaming, and that it didn't necessarily mean that he was having a nightmare. She was relieved to hear this. She was worried her baby was always having nightmares; always feeling scared evey night.  
Lydia's dreams had been jumping around a bit, but lately she had been dreaming of her parents. She missed them terribly, but if they hadn't left that night, she wouldn't have moved in with Dib, and wouldn't have been walking home that night, and wouldn't have Zim to look forward to. She didn't want to say it was worth her parents death to have Zim but she also didn't want to say she wished for it vice versa either. She wished she could have her parents alive and still have Zim at the same time, yet sadly, fate had to choose one or the other, and fate, in return for its choice, gave her Zim.  
Whenever Lydia would get sad about her parents, the baby would kick softly, as if telling her it would be alright, and reminding her that she wasn't alone. She would just smile and cradle her stomach, a habit she had gotten into over the past few months.  
She pulled her shirt up over her stomach and placed a kiss on it, then stroked her tummy.  
"I love you," she whispered to her abdomen, earning her an ever so gentle kick, and she just smiled sweetly, wishing she could see him for herself, instead of just on a screen or a printed picture.  
The cool, May night air blew through the open window, blowing her Ariel red hair around her shoulders gently. It had gotten long again since she got it cut the month before. After the incident, she kept it short; no longer than shoulder length, so if it happened again, it couldn't be held onto. But after a while, she missed having long hair, and grew it out again.  
Without really thinking about it, she placed a hand on her stomach, staring out the window at the stary sky. Her attention was soon drawn back to her bare stomach though, when she felt something she hadn't before. In the same place as her hand, she felt something push against it ever so slightly, but it was too high to be a kick, and too small to be a foot. It took her a minute to figure out what it was, but smiled sweetly when she figured it out; it was a hand. Her baby had placed his hand on her own. It brought happy tears to her eyes as she started to stroke her tummy with her thumb, not moving her hand from its resting place.  
She looked at her clock; 4:36 am. It was now that she realized just how tired she was, and that she only had an hour and a half left to sleep. She laid down on her side, to prevent getting dizzy, and slowly fell asleep, thinking about how she didn't want to go to school. Because of her current state, the school told her that if she felt like she needed to stay home to do so, but she decided to go anyway, for the main fact that if she stayed home, she would have nothing to do. She could always come home early if she had to.  
~later that day~  
"Who would like to share their sensory detail example?" Mr. Davidson asked. Lydia was one of the first to raise her hand. "Lydia, you can go first, then Noah, Alyssa and Tali."  
Lydia coughed,then read her example.  
"Cherry red, syrup-thickened liquid drips from the small, thorn-caused puncture on my dirt-covered index finger. I don't mind, infact, I hardly notice. I am too captured in the soft, almost fluffy green grass. The sun shining golden, milky rays on the soft, few clouds that linger in the fading evening sky, making them appear As frozen fireworks that will remain until blown away by the calming breath of wind, escaping the lips of the captivating prison known as the Northern Minnesota sky. My time is up, and I too, am frozen."  
The class clapped and cheered like they always did, the. The other three read their poems and got the same response that Lydia had.  
"Very good very good indeed! You guys have gotten so much better since last year!" He cheered, getting excited, as usual, about the great sensory detail that the juniors came up with.  
The bell rang and the students were dismissed for their next class. Lydia went to marketing for half an hour and the. They were dismissed for lunch. She didn't have lunch with her friends, but she did have lunch with her cousin and her two friends, so she wasn't totally alone. Today she got soup, the only school food she could tolerate; pregnant or not. It was chicken noodle, and was warm going down her sore throat. All of the effing pollen in the air was making her sinuses go bat-shit crazy, and she felt even more miserable. She really had wanted to make it through the whole day, but she knew that it wasn't going to happen. She could hardly breathe, her throat hurt, and she felt pretty tired.  
When she went down to the nurse, she could see others withe similar problems, some kids with sinuses, a kid with an injured hand, and one of the other two pregnant girls', a senior named Micah, water just broke, and she was sitting in a chair in pain as she waited for someone to come get her, either an ambulence or her parents.  
Mivah looked at Lydia. "Hey Lydia," she said in a pained voice.  
"Hi, how long have you been waiting here?"  
"Half an hour."  
"And no ones gotten you yet?"  
"My parents are at wok an hour and a half away, and evey ambulence is out."  
"I can give you a ride to the hospital, I was gonna leave anyway, I can just drop you off."  
"You're amazing, thank you."  
Micah got into a wheelchair and the nurse wheeled her to Lydia's car and helped her inside.  
When they arrived at the hospital, Micah was taken care of right away, and Lydia stayed with her for a little bit. The two of them had met at a counsling thing for troubled teens, and became friends soon after they found out they went to the same school.  
They were sitting in the waiting room, talking. Micah was scared so they talked about her baby. She said she wasn't sure off the gender, that she wanted it to be a surprise. She said if it was a girl it would be Elaine and if it was a boy it would be Brandon.  
She then asked Lydia about her baby, and Lydia told her it was a boy, his name was Zim, she was sevon months along and he was an active baby.  
"Who's the lucky daddy?"  
"Some douchebag that decided he wanted some fun."  
"Were you raped too?"  
Lydia looked at Micah, a little bit shocked. "Yeah. Yeah I was."  
"Damn rapists. They should be tied to a pole while they slowely got their dicks cut off."  
Lydia laughed at this. She had always thought the same thing. "Amen to that."  
Just then, Micah's doctor came in and told Lydia she had to leave because they were about to begin. Lydia said goodbye to Micah and wished her luck, then left for home, exhausted.


	7. Chapter 7: month nine

Chapter 7: The last month  
Warning: this chapter is going to escalate kinda quickly  
Lydia P.O.V  
Pain. So much pain. That was by far the most painful thing I have ever endured. It only took, like, a half hour, but you know... FUCKING PAINFUL! And to think, my day started off so... not painful.  
~earlier that day~ Reg P.O.V  
At long last, it was summer vacation. About 5 weeks in, and it was being thoroughly enjoyed, by both the students and teachers.  
Dib and Lydia, especially Lydia, were taking advantage of having free time by relaxing, sleeping, and spending time together.  
Today was Thursday, July 4th, so Dib and Lydia went out to lunch. They talked and laughed, enjoying being able to spend time together. They were talking about college. Both planned on going to the university in their home state, and then living in an apartment nearby. Lydia would have to find someone to watch Zim, which, for obvious reasons, she was hesitant about. Having noticed this fact, Dib made a small disguise watch for her. It had two parts; the watch, for Lydia to wear, and the micro-chip that was already installed in Zim's PAK, so that until he was old enough to do it himself, Lydia could easily control his disguise.  
Lydia cradled her stomach a little. She was about a week from her due date, and she was getting anxious. She wanted to hold her baby dearly, but she knew it was going to hurt like hell. Plus, while the baby was inside her, she could protect it; once it was out, she couldn't as easily, there would always be something dangerous he could get caught up in.  
She took a deep breath. She was getting worked up again, and she knew that stress wasn't good for either of them.  
God, where was their food? They had ordered about 45 minutes ago, and it wasn't even busy. This was one of the things she really hated about pregnancy; constantly being hungry. Even when she was full. She sighed and smiled down at her stomach, rubbing it. 'You're a lot of work, you know that?' She got a soft movement in response. 'But you're worth it.'  
A scream. There was a scream. Well, more of a shriek actually. It came from the kitchen. Always a good sign in a restaurant. Heads turned to the sound and as the cooks and staff were rushing out, the smoke sprinklers started going off. People shrieked as they fled from the restaurant. Lydia and Dib were getting up from their table, when lydia felt a sharp pop-like feeling. She grabbed her stomach, but the pain decreased rather quickly. She and Dib rushed out of the wet building, soaking wet, like everyone else. The manager emerged a moment later.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am so very sorry about this, all your meals are on the house."  
"Well," Dib whispered to Lydia, "considering we never got our food, that's very nice."  
Dib and Lydia looked at each other. Then started laughing.  
"Lets get home."  
"Yeah."  
On the way home, Lydia started getting that pain again. She didn't want Dib to worry himself into a state of irreversible panick again, so she just bit her lip and stared out the window. Her doctor said she would feel cramps throughout her pregnancy, so she tried to think nothing of it. That was proving to be harder than it seemed. 'Give it an hour. If it isn't done in an hour, we will go in.'  
~30 minutes later~  
"Dib!" Lydia called out in pain. Dib ran up the stairs to her.  
"What is it? What's wrong?"  
"I don't know! I think I'm going into labor, but my water didn't break."  
"Lets get you to the hospital." Dib helped Lydia up, down the stairs and into his car. Dib had called doctor Sorenson to let him know they were on their way, so when they got to the hospital, they were taken in right away. She tried to think of what was happening. Dr. Sorenson had told her she was indeed in labor, so she was trying to think of when her water broke. She couldn't think of any time, unless... OF COURSE! At the restaurant! That pop she felt when the sprinklers were going off! She was relieved that it was something normal.  
They got started right away, and Dr. Sorenson told her what to do and she did it, though it was extremely painful. Dib let her squeeze his hand, which he regretted whenever she did. After what felt like an eeternity later, the sound of a baby's cry could be heard in the room. One final push, and she was done.  
Lydia allowed herself to collapse backwards, panting.  
Lydia P.O.V  
Pain. So much pain. That was by far the most painful thing I have ever endured. It only took, like, a half hour, but you know... FUCKING PAINFUL! And to think, my day started off so... not painful.  
Reg. P.O.V  
Lydia listened to the sounds of her son making his first sounds, when he was handed to her. He was wrapped loosely in a blanket, and had on a small hat with two slits for his antenna. His crying stopped after being placed in the loving arms of his mother, and was replaced with the adorable whimpering sounds babies make after crying. Lydia smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stroked her baby's cheek, feeling his skin for the first time.  
The doctor had to interrupt for a moment he gave Lydia a list of important factors about irkens, such as how the pollutants in fresh water were harmful, so if she was going to give him a bath or something else involving fresh water, to make sure it was purified, and how meat was also harmful, so he could only have irken meat (he gave her a formula tocput in all foods that made it safe for both humans and irkens). He then left her to her baby.  
"Hey, Zim." She said quietly and gently to the sleeping baby in her arms. His antenna twitched at the new, comforting sound of his mother's soft voice. "It's nice to finally meet you." She continued to stroke his soft cheek, and smiled at what had just become of her life.


	8. Chapter 8: epilogue

Chapter eight: epilogue  
I am in the car, typing this on my phone (same for last chapter and last part of chapter 6) so pardon any spelling errors, the keys are close together and like to tell me I am hitting the righr letter when I am not.  
~the next day~  
It felt nice to be home, even though they were leaving again anyway. Lydia, Dib and Zim were going to stay with Lydia's grandparents in Florida for a while so the could meet and help take care of their new alien great-grandson. Yes, Lydia had told them. It wasn't until they saw the pictures that they believed it for themselves. So now they were packing to leave.  
Lydia's grandfather was sending his helicopter (he had built his own four passenger helicopter when he had retired. It was about the size of the one in jurrasic park. He had been very bored while his wife was away.) to pick them up at the small airfield on the outskirts of town in about an hour.  
Considering Lydia just gave birth the day before, Dib offered to pack for her, like a gentleman. However, Lydia politely declined, knowing she would get very antsy and have an ADHD attack if she just sat there staring at the ceiling.  
Lydia finished packing her things and wemt upstairs to pack some stuff for Zim. When she got up to her room, where Zim would be sleeping for a few weeks until he was moved into the room next to Lydia's, she saw he wast dldast asleep. She smiled at her son, and her mind began to wander again. 'Is it uncomfortable? Sleeping with that hunk of metal on his back? He looks pretty comfortable. Why do newborns sleep so much? Isn't that, like, all they really do for nine months?  
She shook her head to try and get her thoughts back on track. She walked over to the dresser and packed some shirts and pants for Zim, then brought the bag downstairs with the other two bags. She then went back upstairs to get Zim. She walked back into her room and picked up her son, holding him for a while before placing him in his carrier.  
As they were walking out to the car, she couldn't help but think.  
Life in general was amazing. It had this way of giving people a sense of hope in their darkest hour, and making it light again. It pulled people from out of the ashes of destruction, and helped them walk into the light of a new life.  
The end.  
Hope you liked this little fanfic. Sequal to come!


End file.
